Farmers facing acute crisis due to fertilizer shortage, rising fuel prices: Bharat Priye

• Submits memorandum to ADC Reasi seeking urgent intervention on fertilizers, quality seeds, diesel subsidy and action against black-marketing

REASI: Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) Kissan Congress Chairman Bharat Priye on Monday led a delegation of senior Congress and youth leaders to submit a memorandum of demands to Additional Deputy Commissioner Reasi, Rakesh Kumar, seeking immediate intervention to address the growing hardships being faced by the farming community across the district.

The delegation, accompanied by Adv. Ajay Salathia, President DCC Reasi, Kamal Singh, Chairman District Congress Kissan Cell Reasi, senior Congress leaders Munshi Ram Salathia, Vijay Kumar Sharma and Ramesh Chander, besides Shoba Sharma, President District Mahila Congress Reasi, Bishan Sharma and Dev Raj Bhagat, General Secretaries JKPYC, Karandeep Singh and Maninder Sharma, Vice Presidents JKDYC, and Khadam Chouhan, President JKAYC, urged the district administration to take immediate and concrete steps for safeguarding the interests of farmers.

In the memorandum, Bharat Priye highlighted that farmers in Reasi district are facing serious difficulties due to irregular supply and inadequate availability of fertilizers at authorised outlets during the peak agricultural season. He stressed that many cultivators are being forced to purchase fertilizers from private dealers at inflated rates, causing heavy financial burden on small and marginal farmers. The delegation demanded adequate stocking and timely distribution of fertilizers in every block and remote area of the district.

The Congress leaders also expressed concern over the supply of substandard and uncertified seeds to farmers. They demanded strict monitoring of seed distribution centres and urged the administration to ensure availability of certified high-yield quality seeds so that farmers can improve productivity and avoid crop losses. The memorandum stated that quality seeds are essential for enhancing agricultural output and strengthening the rural economy.

Raising the issue of continuously increasing diesel and petrol prices, Bharat Priye said that farmers dependent on diesel-operated tractors, tillers, irrigation pumps and other agricultural machinery are finding cultivation increasingly unaffordable. He appealed to the government to provide diesel subsidy support to farmers in Jammu and Kashmir to reduce cultivation costs and provide much-needed relief to the agrarian community already struggling with economic distress.

The delegation further sought strict action against black-marketing, hoarding and illegal profiteering in fertilizers, pesticides, seeds and other agricultural essentials. They demanded regular inspections of fertilizer and seed outlets along with a strong vigilance mechanism to prevent exploitation of genuine farmers. The leaders said that anti-farmer practices by profiteers are severely affecting agricultural activities in rural areas.

Highlighting broader concerns of the farming community in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharat Priye said that farmers are also suffering due to lack of adequate irrigation facilities, poor road connectivity to farmlands, frequent damage to crops caused by stray animals and wild boars, inadequate compensation for crop losses, absence of cold storage infrastructure, declining market support for horticulture produce, and delay in implementation of farmer welfare schemes. He demanded that the government frame a comprehensive policy for strengthening agriculture and allied sectors in the Union Territory.

The Congress leaders expressed hope that the district administration would take immediate and favourable steps to resolve the pressing issues confronting farmers in Reasi district. They reiterated that the farming community forms the backbone of the rural economy and deserves urgent support and protection from the government.